Hopman Cup honour lures WA s Dellacqua - The West Australian

UPDATE: WA tennis fans will have the chance to see Casey Dellacqua's remarkable resurgence when she competes at next summer's Hyundai Hopman Cup.

Dellacqua will team up with teenage sensation Nick Kyrgios, who stunned world No.1 Rafa Nadal at this year's Wimbledon on his way to the last eight.

Also playing in Perth will be two-time grand slam champion Andy Murray, who will partner British 2012 Olympian Heather Watson at the mixed-teams event, starting at Perth Arena on January 4.

Dellacqua reached a career-high ranking of 30 yesterday, putting her in line to receive a singles seeding for the first time in a grand slam at the US Open, starting on August 25.

And in a further boost for WA tennis, the State Government has signed a new three-year sponsorship deal with the Hopman Cup.

The deal includes an option for a further five years, securing the event until 2022.

Ranked outside the top 200 late last year after struggling to recover from foot and shoulder injuries, Dellacqua started her climb up the world rankings with a run to the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.

She has played once before at Perth's $1 million mixed teams tournament, partnering Lleyton Hewitt in 2009.

Dellacqua was named to return in 2013 with Bernard Tomic, but had to withdraw due to injury, replaced by teenager Ashleigh Barty before the event was played for the first time at Perth Arena.

A three-times grand slam doubles runner-up last year, Dellacqua's renewed focus on singles also led to a quarterfinal showing at the prestigious Indian Wells Masters in March and a victory over Australian No.1 Samantha Stosur in Birmingham.

The 29-year-old said she was looking forward to opening her 2015 campaign at the Hopman Cup from January 4-10.

"I'm really happy to be playing the Hopman Cup again. It's a privilege to go out and play for your country," Dellacqua said.

"To play in front of my home crowd in Perth is a bonus.

"I've heard lots of great things about the Perth Arena.

"I was really disappointed that I had to withdraw from the 2013 Hopman Cup with injury, so it will be good to get out there and play for the first time."

Dellacqua said she was confident her resurgence would continue.

"I've had a good year so far and I'm motivated to keep working hard and to perform well," she said.

Kyrgios said he wanted the local crowd to provide a partisan atmosphere.

"I've heard the Perth Arena is a great stadium," Kyrgios said.

"Hopefully we can get that atmosphere like a Davis Cup tie.

"That would be just sensational to play in front of a crowd like that because it really gives me the energy and spark to perform out there.

"I'll be teaming up with Casey and I think she'll be the leader of our little duo.

"I'm going to look up to her so hopefully she can lead me when we play a bit of mixed doubles."

Tourism Minister Liza Harvey said the State Government was delighted to have signed the new deal with the Hopman Cup and Tennis Australia.

"Events such as the Davis Cup and the Hopman Cup form an important part of the State Government's strategy to grow the value of tourism," she said.